The Slytherin's Survival
by TheGoldman
Summary: It was rumoured that he had survived the final battle against Voldemort. Now, Harry has found him.


AN: I don't own Harry Potter. The bits in bold are taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' epilogue.

-.-.-

The black-haired man entered the dingy bar quietly, emerald eyes scanning the faces of each person he saw. Harry Potter knew who he was looking for, and he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to find him.

The rumours of this man's survival had begun to spread after the war, when Harry went to look for his body and it wasn't there. The official story was that it had been burnt by Voldemort's troops, but rumours had begun to spread. A single man, clad all in black, leaving England. The same man, appearing during times of need to help people, even though he spoke condescendingly to them. During the 2005 crisis in Russia, he'd apparently been there, fighting against a clan of vampires who'd tried to assassinate the Russian President. And, according to rumours, he'd been the one to hunt down Antonin Dolohov after the Death Eater had escaped Azkaban in 2006.

Harry had been the only one at the Auror office to believe in the man's true identity. Ron had disagreed, pointing out how badly he'd been savaged in the fighting. His body had probably been burned, or eaten by Nagini after they left it. But Harry was unsure, knowing how capable the man was. He could have survived, especially if he'd had assistance. Fawkes the Phoenix had re-appeared after the battle, and claimed the Shrieking Shack as his home. That was an ominous sign, in his opinion, but Ron and Hermione had disagreed with him.

He'd left the Aurors in 2009, and begun to follow the rumours. Ginny had understood that he needed to do this, although she'd warned him to be safe. He couldn't leave his three children without a father. The rumours had led him here, to this bar in the mountains of Transylvania, in August of 2009. It seemed appropriate, for a man who so many had assumed to be a vampire at some point, to be found in the very mountains where Vladimir Drakul had once dwelled.

"Professor." He said in greeting, as he took a seat next to the only other man in the bar. The Professor's hair, once black, was now greying, and he no longer wore his trademark black robes. Instead, he wore a dark, battered leather overcoat, under which he wore a dark shirt and trousers. His skin was sallow as ever, and his hooked nose looked like it had been broken once more. The scars were visible on his neck from Nagini's bite, and there was another scar across his left cheek.

"Potter." His voice was as smooth as Harry remembered, even though he had aged a fair deal. "You found me."

"I owed you."

The Professor shook his head. "We are even, Potter. You freed me from the Dark Lord's service by slaying him."

Harry ordered two beers from the barman, and slid one of them to his former teacher. They drank together in silence, both deep in thought.

"You'd be welcome to return to Britain, if you wanted." Harry stated. "You're a hero, actually. Order of Merlin, First Class." The Professor raised an eyebrow. "I made sure of it, you deserved it."

"I have no great desire to return, Potter. Even though you believe me a hero, too many would remember be as the 'Demon of the Dungeons', the most hated of teachers."

Harry pulled a picture from his wallet and passed it to the Professor. "What am I looking at a picture of your family for, Potter?" The Professor drawled.

"Those are my kids, mine and Ginny's. Lily Luna, James Sirius – " At this the Professor rolled his eyes, and Harry smiled. Some things never changed. "– and Albus Severus."

The Professor froze, as though he'd been Petrified. Harry continued to talk. "Albus would be amazed to meet his namesake, the bravest man I've ever known."

"Then take him to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. I'm sure the old man's portrait would love to see him."

"I meant the man who gave him his middle name." The Professor's jaw dropped. Was a Potter really saying this to him?

"I ..." The Professor struggled to find his words. "I am grateful, Potter. But I do not believe I can return."

Harry nodded in understanding. "If you ever change your mind, you're always welcome at Grimmauld Place. You could drop by for dinner, if you wanted."

The Professor nodded, and watched as Harry left. As he saw the son of his childhood enemy and his greatest love leave, a tear rolled from his black eyes.

-.-Eight years later-.-

"**What if I'm in Slytherin?"**

**The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was.**

**Harry crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above his own. Alone of Harry's three children, Albus had inherited Lily's eyes.**

"**Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."**

A gasp from Ginny made Harry look up, to see a tall man looming over him and Albus. He stood, and recognised the sallow-skinned, greasy-haired man, and shook his hand.

"Professor." Harry said respectfully. "I didn't expect to see you again, truthfully."

"I could not miss today." The Professor replied, inclining his head.

"Albus." Harry called to his son. "This is your namesake, Professor Severus Snape."

Severus Snape bent down, looking the boy in the eyes. Lily's eyes shone back at him. "I understand you are to begin your first year at Hogwarts." Severus said. "You will do great credit to your House, wherever you end up. You may have heard that Gryffindor is the best House, but let me tell you something."

Albus leaned in closer, as Severus whispered. "Slytherin is the House of Cunning and Ambition. They prize not knowledge, or loyalty, or courage, but logic. Logic can solve any problem, ones in which bravery cannot. Sometimes, it is braver to use your logic to solve a problem than to charge in."

Albus smiled up at the kind man. "Thank you, Professor Snape." He said.

The corner of Snape's lip curled upwards. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Albus Severus Potter."

Together, Harry Potter and Severus Snape watched as the train left the station, taking Albus Severus on his first great adventure in the magical world, to the first place both Severus and Harry had called home.

-.-.-

Just a little one-shot, that wandered into my head earlier today. It might not be clear in this story, but Snape survived because of Fawkes healing him from the brink of death, after Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Shack.


End file.
